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This lesson offers a quick overview of the main verb tenses in English. It also explains which are the most important to master at various language levels. Test yourself on the tenses in English by taking the quiz at http://www.engvid.com/english-grammar-tenses-overview/

LESSON 12: USE OF FUTURE PERFECT TENSE

How do we use the Future Perfect Tense?

 

 

The future perfect tense expresses action in the future before another action in the future. This is the past in the future.


For example:

• The train will leave the station at 9am. You will arrive at the station at 9.15am. When you arrive, the train will have left.

The train will have left when you arrive.
past	present	future
		Train leaves in future at 9am.
9   9.15
		You arrive in future at 9.15am.

Look at some more examples:

• You can call me at work at 8am. I will have arrived at the office by 8.
• They will be tired when they arrive. They will not have slept for a long time.
• "Mary won't be at home when you arrive."
  "Really? Where will she have gone?"

You can sometimes think of the future perfect tense like the present perfect tense, but instead of your viewpoint being in the present, it is in the future:

present perfect tense				future perfect tense
	| have | done | > |					will | have | done | > |
past	now	future		past	now	future

LESSON 11: FUTURE PERFECT TENSE

Future Perfect Tense

 

 

I will have sung

The future perfect tense is quite an easy tense to understand and use. The future perfect tense talks about the past in the future.

How do we make the Future Perfect Tense?

 

 

The structure of the future perfect tense is:

subject	+	auxiliary verb WILL	+	auxiliary verb HAVE	+	main verb
		invariable		invariable		past participle
		will		have		V3

Look at these example sentences in the future perfect tense:

	subject	auxiliary verb		auxiliary verb	main verb
+	I	will		have	finished	by 10am.
+	You	will		have	forgotten	me by then.
-	She	will	not	have	gone	to school.
-	We	will	not	have	left.
?	Will	you		have	arrived?
?	Will	they		have	received	it?

In speaking with the future perfect tense, we often contract the subject and will.


Sometimes, we contract the subject, will and have all together:

I will have	I'll have	I'll've
you will have	you'll have	you'll've
he will have she will have it will have	he'll have she'll have it'll have	he'll've she'll've it'll've
we will have	we'll have	we'll've
they will have	they'll have	they'll've

 

ENGLISH TIPS!!

We sometimes use shall instead of will, especially for I and we.

LESSON 10: USE OF PAST PERFECT TENSE

How do we use the Past Perfect Tense?

 

 

The past perfect tense expresses action in the past before another action in the past. This is the past in the past.



For example:

• The train left at 9am. We arrived at 9.15am. When we arrived, the train had left.

The train had left when we arrived.
past	present	future
Train leaves in past at 9am.
9   9.15
We arrive in past at 9.15am.

Look at some more examples:

• I wasn't hungry. I had just eaten.
• They were hungry. They had not eaten for five hours.
• I didn't know who he was. I had never seen him before.
• "Mary wasn't at home when I arrived."
  "Really? Where had she gone?"

You can sometimes think of the past perfect tense like the present perfect tense, but instead of the time being now the time is past.

past perfect tense				present perfect tense
had | done | > |					have | done | > |
past	now	future		past	now	future

For example, imagine that you arrive at the station at 9.15am. The stationmaster says to you:

• "You are too late. The train has left."

Later, you tell your friends:

• "We were too late. The train had left."

We often use the past perfect tense in reported speech after verbs like said, told, asked, thought, wondered:

Look at these examples:

• He told us that the train had left.
• I thought I had met her before, but I was wrong.
• He explained that he had closed the window because of the rain.
• I wondered if I had been there before.
• I asked them why they had not finished.

LESSON 9: PAST PERFECT TENSE

Past Perfect Tense

 

I had sung

The past perfect tense is quite an easy tense to understand and to use. This tense talks about the "past in the past".

How do we make the Past Perfect Tense?

 

 

The structure of the past perfect tense is:

subject	+	auxiliary verb HAVE	+	main verb
		conjugated in simple past tense		past participle
		had		V3

For negative sentences in the past perfect tense, we insert not between the auxiliary verb and main verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary verb. Look at these example sentences with the past perfect tense:

	subject	auxiliary verb		main verb
+	I	had		finished	my work.
+	You	had		stopped	before me.
-	She	had	not	gone	to school.
-	We	had	not	left.
?	Had	you		arrived?
?	Had	they		eaten	dinner?

When speaking with the past perfect tense, we often contract the subject and auxiliary verb:

I had	I'd
you had	you'd
he had she had it had	he'd she'd it'd
we had	we'd
they had	they'd

 

 

ENGLISH TIPS!!

 

The 'd contraction is also used for the auxiliary verb would. For example, we'd can mean:

• We had
  or
• We would

 

 

But usually the main verb is in a different form, for example:

• We had arrived (past participle)
• We would arrive (base)

 

 

LESSON 8: USE OF PRESENT PERFECT TENSE

How do we use the Present Perfect Tense?

 

This tense is called the present perfect tense. There is always a connection with the past and with the present. There are basically three uses for the present perfect tense:

1. experience
2. change
3. continuing situation

1. Present perfect tense for experience

 

 

We often use the present perfect tense to talk about experience from the past. We are not interested in when you did something. We only want to know if you did it:

I have seen ET. He has lived in Bangkok. Have you been there? We have never eaten caviar.
past	present	future
!!!
The action or state was in the past.	In my head, I have a memory now.

 

Connection with past: the event was in the past.
Connection with present: in my head, now, I have a memory of the event; I know something about the event; I have experience of it.

2. Present perfect tense for change

 

 

We also use the present perfect tense to talk about a change or new information:

I have bought a car.
past	present	future
-	+
Last week I didn't have a car.	Now I have a car.

 

John has broken his leg.
past	present	future
+	-
Yesterday John had a good leg.	Now he has a bad leg.

 

Has the price gone up?
past	present	future
+	-
Was the price $1.50 yesterday?	Is the price $1.70 today?

 

The police have arrested the killer.
past	present	future
-	+
Yesterday the killer was free.	Now he is in prison.

 



Connection with past: the past is the opposite of the present.
Connection with present: the present is the opposite of the past.

LESSON 7: PRESENT PERFECT TENSE

How do we make the Present Perfect Tense?

The structure of the present perfect tense is:

subject	+	auxiliary verb	+	main verb
		have		past participle

Here are some examples of the present perfect tense:

	subject	auxiliary verb		main verb
+	I	have		seen	ET.
+	You	have		eaten	mine.
-	She	has	not	been	to Rome.
-	We	have	not	played	football.
?	Have	you		finished?
?	Have	they		done	it?

 

 

 

Contractions with the present perfect tense

When we use the present perfect tense in speaking, we usually contract the subject and auxiliary verb. We also sometimes do this when we write.




 

I have	I've
You have	You've
He has She has It has John has The car has	He's She's It's John's The car's
We have	We've
They have	They've

Here are some examples:

• I've finished my work.
• John's seen ET.
• They've gone home.

NEXT!!! We will discuss the use of Present Perfect Tense okay?

LESSON 6: SIMPLE FUTURE TENSE

Simple Future Tense

 

I will sing

The simple future tense is often called will, because we make the simple future tense with the modal auxiliary will.

 

How do we make the Simple Future Tense?

The structure of the simple future tense is:

subject	+	auxiliary verb WILL	+	main verb
		invariable		base
		will		V1

For negative sentences in the simple future tense, we insert not between the auxiliary verb and main verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary verb. Look at these example sentences with the simple future tense:

	subject	auxiliary verb		main verb
+	I	will		open	the door.
+	You	will		finish	before me.
-	She	will	not	be	at school tomorrow.
-	We	will	not	leave	yet.
?	Will	you		arrive	on time?
?	Will	they		want	dinner?

When we use the simple future tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and auxiliary verb:

I will	I'll
you will	you'll
he will she will it will	he'll she'll it'll
we will	we'll
they will	they'll

For negative sentences in the simple future tense, we contract with won't, like this:

I will not	I won't
you will not	you won't
he will not she will not it will not	he won't she won't it won't
we will not	we won't
they will not	they won't

 

 

 

 

 

How do we use the Simple Future Tense?

 

 

No Plan

We use the simple future tense when there is no plan or decision to do something before we speak. We make the decision spontaneously at the time of speaking. Look at these examples:

• Hold on. I'll get a pen.
• We will see what we can do to help you.
• Maybe we'll stay in and watch television tonight.

In these examples, we had no firm plan before speaking. The decision is made at the time of speaking.
We often use the simple future tense with the verb to think before it:

• I think I'll go to the gym tomorrow.
• I think I will have a holiday next year.
• I don't think I'll buy that car.

 

 

 

 

 

Prediction

We often use the simple future tense to make a prediction about the future. Again, there is no firm plan. We are saying what we think will happen. Here are some examples:

• It will rain tomorrow.
• People won't go to Jupiter before the 22nd century.
• Who do you think will get the job?

 

 

 

 

Be

When the main verb is be, we can use the simple future tense even if we have a firm plan or decision before speaking. Examples:

• I'll be in London tomorrow.
• I'm going shopping. I won't be very long.
• Will you be at work tomorrow?

REMEMBER!!! Keep smiling okay???

EXERCISE 1: PAST TENSE

Simple Past Tense Quiz

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 TRY THIS!

1	I _________ (GO) to the mall after school.
2	My brother _______  (SEE) a bear an hour ago.
3	Mike _________ (VISIT) his grandmother last night
4	Alex _________ (SKIP) school last weekend.
5	Judy and Liz ________  (ATTEND) at last month's meeting.
6	We ___________ (ARE) not happy after the sad ending.
7	___________  (DO) you see Jody's new dog yesterday?
8	I ____________ (HEAR) something at the door last night.
9	I __________  (STUDY) English for two years.
10	What ______________ (DO) you eat for lunch yesterday?

LESSON 5: SIMPLE PAST TENSE

Past Tense Verbs 

 

 

We mentioned past tense verbs when discussing whether it was necessary to use correct grammar in your daily to do list.
As the phrase implies, they are verbs that are changed to be reflective of an action or situation that happened in the past, rather then the current timeframe. However, it gets a little more complicated than that, as there are different types...

Simple Past

 

When Joe was listing his tasks on the previous page we suggested he use an action verb before the noun in each task item. So he added the words in the first column of the table below...

Current	Simple Past Tense
Print	Printed
Order	Ordered
Send	Sent

We then moved on to change these into past tense verbs to signify that when the task had been crossed out, it was completed. For example whatever needed printing, had been printed.
These simple past tense verbs normally have the following letters added, -d or -ed, to the root of the word denoting that the action has happened. As a quick guideline you can use the following tips.

• Add -d if the verb ends in e.
• If a verb ends in -y, then change the -y to -i and add -ed.

 TAKE NOTE!!!

There is another type of past tense called irregular past tense!

Irregular Simple Past

 

 

• However, you will note that the last example in the table above varies from this general rule. 
• It uses what is known as an irregular simple past tense verb. 
• There are a number of verbs in common day to day use that can be categorised in this manner. 
• The next table gives a list of some irregular past tense verbs and their past participles.
• The latter would normally have the word "had" before them.

Current	Irregular Simple Past	Past Participle
begin	began	begun
come	came	come
eat	ate	eaten
go	went	gone
fall	fell	fallen
shake	shook	shaken
run	ran	run
swear	swore	sworn
hide	hid	hidden
write	wrote	written

If you are in doubt as to how a verb should be used to specify that an action has already happened, it is wise to check a dictionary, as it will give you the past tense of any verb you look up.

LESSON 4: SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE

Simple Present Tense

I sing

 

How do we make the Simple Present Tense?

subject	+	auxiliary verb	+	main verb
		do		base

There are three important exceptions:

1. For positive sentences, we do not normally use the auxiliary.
2. For the 3rd person singular (he, she, it), we add s to the main verb or es to the auxiliary.
3. For the verb to be, we do not use an auxiliary, even for questions and negatives.

Look at these examples with the main verb like:

	subject	auxiliary verb		main verb
+	I, you, we, they			like	coffee.
	He, she, it			likes	coffee.
-	I, you, we, they	do	not	like	coffee.
	He, she, it	does	not	like	coffee.
?	Do	I, you, we, they		like	coffee?
	Does	he, she, it		like	coffee?

Look at these examples with the main verb be. Notice that there is no auxiliary:

	subject	main verb
+	I	am		French.
	You, we, they	are		French.
	He, she, it	is		French.
-	I	am	not	old.
	You, we, they	are	not	old.
	He, she, it	is	not	old.
?	Am	I		late?
	Are	you, we, they		late?
	Is	he, she, it		late?

 

 

 

How do we use the Simple Present Tense?

 Yes i know you might get bored with these!! Please be nice okay??










We use the simple present tense when:

• the action is general
• the action happens all the time, or habitually, in the past, present and future
• the action is not only happening now
• the statement is always true

John drives a taxi.
past	present	future
It is John's job to drive a taxi. He does it every day. Past, present and future.

Look at these examples:

• I live in New York.
• The Moon goes round the Earth.
• John drives a taxi.
• He does not drive a bus.
• We meet every Thursday.
• We do not work at night.
• Do you play football?

Note that with the verb to be, we can also use the simple present tense for situations that are not general. We can use the simple present tense to talk about now. Look at these examples of the verb "to be" in the simple present tense - some of them are general, some of them are now:

Am I right? Tara is not at home. You are happy.
past	present	future
The situation is now.

 

I am not fat. Why are you so beautiful? Ram is tall.
past	present	future
The situation is general. Past, present and future.

LESSON 3: TENSE VERBS (TIME)

Verbs can also convey a sense of time. 

Verb tense

 

• Verbs convey a sense of action or they convey the state of an entity.
• Verbs may also convey a sense of time.
• They may convey a sense that an event occurred in the past or that the event is presently occurring or that the event will occur in the future.
• The spelling of the verb may change for some of the expressions of time or auxiliary words may be required with the verb.
• The organization of verbs according to sense of time is called conjugation.
• The word tense means time.

We shall first explore the ways to express time utilizing the verb take for the demonstration.

• The example sentences have been written in first person (singular). 
 

• First person is something I do. 
 

• Second person is something you do. 
 

• Third person is something she does (or he). 

Below are examples of the present verb tense, the past verb tense, and the future verb tense.

1. I take medicine for an allergy. (present tense)
2. I took medicine for an allergy. (past tense)
3. I will take medicine for an allergy. (future tense)

Notice the spelling change for past tense and the inclusion of an auxiliary word for future tense.

LESSON 2: TRANSITIVE AND INTRANSITIVE VERBS

One set of terms used to describe verbs is transitive and intransitive.

• Transitive verbs convey a sense of action and the sentence identifies whom or what the subject addresses.
• Transitive verbs convey a sense of action and the sentence identifies whom or what the subject addresses. 

Tom kicked the ball. 

 

 

The verb is kicked. 

The verb conveys a sense of action, and the sentence reveals what Tom kicked.

The principal punished him. 

 

 

The verb is punished. 

The verb conveys a sense of action, and the sentence indicates whom the principal punished. 

 

 

 

An action verb can be transitive or it can be intransitive. 


Consider the following examples.

I parked the car. 

 

The verb conveys a sense of action, and the sentence indicates what I parked. 

The verb is transitive.

I parked bravely. The verb conveys a sense of action, but the sentence indicates how I parked. The verb is intransitive.

I parked yesterday. The verb conveys a sense of action, but the sentence indicates when I parked. The verb is intransitive.

I parked there. The verb conveys a sense of action, but the sentence indicates where I parked. The verb is intransitive. 

 

 

 

Some sentences convey a complete thought utilizing only a subject and a verb. 


Consider the following example.

Birds fly.

 

The sentence constitutes a complete thought, one that must have teased the imaginations of dreamers for centuries.

 

"Birds fly. Why, oh why, can't I?" 

The verb conveys a sense of action, but does not require an object. 

 

The verb is intransitive because it is not necessary to relate the subject's action to an object. 

 

Transitive verbs have objects; intransitive verbs do not have objects.

The verb be is intransitive because the verb does not convey a sense of action.

The words is, am, are, was, were, and been are forms of the verb be.


The following sentences are composed with intransitive verbs that convey a sense of state, do not convey a sense of action, and do not require an object.

 

 

 

• Thomas is slovenly.
• I am hungry.
• Malaysians are generous.
• Summer was short.
• The students were rowdy.
• We have been there. 

Archaically, some people used the verb be to express present tense.

Example: I be going to the circus.


We now use the verb am.

Example: I am going to the circus.


The following sentence causes some controversy.

The sentence is correct. Why is the sentence correct?

It is I.

The prounoun I is nominative case.

The prounoun me is objective case.

The verb is, a form of the verb be, does not take an object, and therefore, the pronoun cannot be in the objective case.


Casual conversation produces, It's me, but that is not grammatically correct.

LESSON 1 : INTRODUCTION TO VERBS

VERB

What is a verb?

• Effective English language communication usually requires that each sentence contain a subject and a verb. The subject is sometimes defined as a person, a place, or a thing. 

• The verb conveys an understanding of the action expressed, or it conveys the state of the subject.

          1. Action and state

1. Tom hit the ball. 

• The verb is hit.
• Tom acted; he hit something. 
• The verb describes the action.
• Effective communication also requires identification of the thing Tom hit. The object that Tom hit was a ball. The object of the verb hit is the ball. 

     2. The sky is blue. 

The verb, is, conveys the state of the subject.
The verb does not convey a sense of action.
The sky has a blue state.
Blue is the color that describes the sky.
The word blue is an adjective in the sentence, "The sky is blue."

The next lesson is:

1. Transitive verbs
2. Intransitive verbs

See you soon!